Gönül Sen-Menzel
Read the German original ↗
This article was published in German. The original text opens in a new tab in the German section of this website.
Encountering Gönül’s works is a sensual experience. This is how pictures come into being, and this is the only way we can approach them. We are confronted with an abundance of colors that trigger reactions in us.
The individual colors are in contact; they attract or repel each other. No generally valid statements can be made about this, since it depends on each individual’s very personal perception of color and must be decided situationally.
Gönül’s works are created in series and are the result of the artist’s momentary state of mind. Inspired by her surroundings, she spontaneously translates her feelings, producing expressively charged results.
Through their stylistic diversity, Gönül’s works form a kind of summary of different traditions. She links many currents from different cultural spheres, creating a multicultural exchange that corresponds to her living environment. But it remains up to the viewers themselves whether they want to lose themselves in a fantastic world of thought or process and interpret for themselves the images of society, which also represent their own surroundings.
About the Artist
Gönül Sen-Menzel, born in Turkey in 1949, is a visual artist who has lived in Germany since 1981. In Turkey, after finishing secondary school in 1969, she attended the Istanbul Teachers’ College and graduated in 1972 with a diploma in art. She then worked as an art teacher for nine years. In 1983 she began further studies at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, graduating as a master student in 1989.
1949 born in Turkey
1967 secondary school diploma
1972 diploma in art from the Istanbul Teachers’ College
1972–81 art teacher in Turkey
1983–89 studies at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, graduating as a master student
The portrait appeared in the German-Turkish magazine Alem, February 2014, culture section.
